Westlake musicians earned four Gold, two Silver and one Bronze award at the 2026 KBB Music Festival, alongside two special awards recognising an exceptional soloist and the performance of a New Zealand composition.
The annual festival brought together 166 secondary school ensembles from 57 schools, with musicians from Westlake Girls and Westlake Boys achieving an outstanding set of results:
- Gold: Westlake Concert Band, Westlake Big Band, Westlake Symphony Orchestra and Westlake Chamber Orchestra
- Silver: Westlake Girls Jazz Band and Westlake Girls Symphonic Band
- Bronze: Taharoto Strings
Westlake Concert Band received the award for Best Performance of a New Zealand Work by a Concert Band for Karanga, composed by the band’s director and Westlake Boys Head of Music, Warwick Robinson.
Westlake Symphony Orchestra also received the Soloist Award for its performance of Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto, featuring pianist Shan Liu.
All four Westlake premier ensembles earned invitations to the festival’s Gala Concerts on Saturday. Under a recent rule limiting the number of ensembles able to perform from each school, Westlake Chamber Orchestra and Westlake Symphony Orchestra were selected to take the stage, showcasing their musicianship alongside some of the festival’s leading ensembles.
These results reflect the dedication of the students and the year-long support of conductors Joo Yeon Lee, David Squire and Jono Howan, together with Westlake’s instrumental tutors.
Congratulations to everyone involved in an exceptional festival campaign.
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